TC PALM: Army Corps asks Water Management District to delay reservoir; U.S. Rep. Brian Mast: Why?

posted by Everglades Trust | 0sc
August 01, 2017

TC Palm: Written by Tyler Treadway. July 27, 2017.

The federal government needs another month to decide if and how it will help the state build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee to curb algae bloom-causing discharges.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday promised to reply by Aug. 31 to the South Florida Water Management District's invitation to work together on the $1.6 billion project.

"We are currently working through multiple options for the next steps to address your request," Col. Jason A. Kirk, who heads the Corps' Florida operations, wrote to water district Executive Director Peter Antonacci.

Kirk said he wanted to make sure those options "are legally sufficient, policy compliant and implementable."

Corps officials in Florida would "like 30 days to do additional coordination" with higher-ups in the South Atlantic Division office in Atlanta and headquarters in Washington, D.C., spokesman John Campbell said Tuesday.

The state legislation authorizing the reservoir set a deadline for the Corps and the district to start working together by Aug. 1. The Corps, as a federal agency, isn't bound by the state Legislature's deadlines.